USF Progenitor & Crew: Adventures in Cosmos 01

AoT1P: [#44] Down Boy, Chicken Out

The ship that Sarah and Jordan were in was revving its thrusters again to chase down Queen Eliminator. Sarah had mental alarms going off about revealing her ship's position and herself to the USF via the 144p Progenitor and the Zeddnought Cruiser. From her view, both ships looked intimidating, and she was concerned about the consequences of mixing up her work with the USF's more big government style of taking on problems. She quickly made her way out of the asteroid belt only a few waypoints behind Queen Eliminator, hoping to catch up with her to her next destination.

"I'm going to sleep, now," Ka'eo said. He looked totally exhausted and utterly defeated, unlike the look of exhilaration and unwavering determination he wore earlier. Peter's guess was that he was simply very tired, just like him.
Peter related, "Yeah, I'm going to sleep, too. Do you think Mana went to sleep already?"
Ka'eo answered, "I think Mana and Stavro went to sleep. Who knows, they might still be in the cafeteria." Ka'eo really started to feel his aging. He got up from his seat on the ship's bridge and walked to the exit, followed by Peter who shut down his computer and grabbed his jacket from the back of his seat.
Peter sighed. He said innocently, "Alright, well, time for sleep then, I guess."

A voice came from the bridge's OH speakers. It was Ryoma speaking. He said: Hey, Ka'eo. Ka'eo. You there? Ka'eo.
It sounded as though he hit the microphone a few times.
He kept on: Ka'eo. Ka'eo? Ka'aaaaaayyyoooooo? Hello? Ay, what was that?! Ka'eo! Sup bro! Ka'eo. Ka'eo!

Ka'eo remembered, "F$ck! I forgot about the other USF ship that's on the way here. Not only that, but I didn't talk with Ryoma and his crew on debriefing. Dude, I'm so f$cking tired."
"Is that Ryoma?" Peter asked, chuckling. "And there's another ship on the way here, man? How many people are going to keep coming here?" Peter asked in mild agitation and surprise.
In the meantime, Ryoma's voice could still be heard from the bridge room, trying to get Ka'eo's attention.
"Yeah, I messaged them while we were still holding it down with the mercenaries-- the STAR people," Ka'eo said. "Anyways, I just can't wait to get some sleep." He felt himself nodding in and out of falling asleep standing up.
Peter said, "Yeah, don't fall asleep standing here, man. You should just rest, take a nap and wait for that other ship to arrive. Then go back to your living quarters after that."
Ryoma's voice was still reverberating from the bridge. He sounded unchanged in his own determination to annoy Ka'eo into responding.
Ka'eo nodded then mumbled, "Yeah. Alright, well I don't want to hold you up. I gotta talk with Ryoma. You? Go sleep."
"You sure?" Peter checked, chuckling again.
Ka'eo affirmed, "Positive, mate."
"Alright, see you later then," Peter concluded. "And good luck with Ryoma. Sounds like he really wants to talk with you."
"Laters," Ka'eo told him, smirking at Ryoma continuing to pester them from the OH speakers.
The atmosphere felt very relaxed on the ship, giving Ka'eo some relief. He went back onto the bridge and looked around at all the computers, the seats, up toward the cockpit, and out of the windows at the asteroids slowly rotating and following their trail of gravity. He went back onto the bridge and sat down to respond to Ryoma.
"Hi, Ryoma, I've been busy. What can I do for you?" Ka'eo said, not meaning to sound any type of way, simply tired and speaking.

Ryoma said: Hey. Now you sound like my lead tech guy.

Ka'eo asked, "How is that?"

Ryoma answered: He sounds like you, always busy and then he'll ask me, 'What can I do you for?'

Ka'eo thought of an old friend and co-worker he knew back on Earth named Ben. He told Ryoma, "Hey, that reminds me of someone that I know. Or... knew, I should say. Anyways, man, is there anything else I can do for you? Because I'm getting tired and I'm ready to get some sleep."